It's the holiday season, and that means copious amounts of sweets and snacks. With this comes the annual hot chocolate craze. Everywhere from Starbucks to McDonalds has begun to put out ads promoting their sugar-laden, milky, marshmallow-infested version of the seasonal drink.
Fun fact: pre-packaged, pre-mixed hot chocolate is bad news for diabetics, people with dairy allergies, people with lactose intolerances* and people who avoid pork, beef or horsemeat for dietary or religious reasons. Because it usually contains over 20 grams of sugar and powdered milk. And marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from pig and cow parts.
As a vegetarian with a Very Specific allergy to whatever is in Swiss Miss packets, I am understandably a little humbug about this whole thing. But I love chocolate, and I love the feeling of curling up with a cup of sweetness during the cold winter days, so I've found my own workarounds. Below are a few of my favorite recipes. I usually use Trader Joe's or Hershey's cocoa powder as the base, but you can find 100% cocoa powder in most grocery stores. You can play around with the ratios of ingredient to your hearts content! Happy Holidays:)
Honey-Vanilla Hot Cocoa
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tbsp Honey
2-3 drops Vanilla Extract
Add water or coconut milk as needed
Sweet 'n Spicy Hot Cocoa
1.5 tbsps Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp powdered Cardamom
1/4 tsp powdered Cinnamon
Add water or coconut milk as needed
(This recipe is also great for coffee. Just add the spices to the coffee instead of cocoa)
Peppermint Hot Cocoa
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Honey
1-2 drops peppermint extract (or just put a peppermint stick in!)
Add coconut milk (this one doesn't taste too good with water)
Gingerbread Hot Cocoa
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp powdered Ginger
1/4 tsp powdered Cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered Clove
1 tbsp Agave or Molasses
Add coconut milk or water as needed.
Citrusy Hot Cocoa
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp powdered Cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered Clove
1-2 drops Lemon oil (or simmer water/coconut milk with dried orange peels before adding in the other stuff).
*Not the same thing as a dairy allergy. Allergies mean reactions to the milk protein, casein. Intolerances mean reactions to the milk carbohydrate, lactose.